


Mer’s and Harpies and Bab’s Oh My

by OrionRedde, Shyrstyne



Series: Cometverse [55]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cultural Misunderstandings, Multi, Near Drowning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 15:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19478968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionRedde/pseuds/OrionRedde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyrstyne/pseuds/Shyrstyne
Summary: So what if Cometverse but mermaids and harpies instead?(not part of the actual Cometverse timeline)





	Mer’s and Harpies and Bab’s Oh My

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so we’ve been plugging at this one for a few months now and we’re just gonna call it done bc holy shit it got way bigger than either of us intended tbh XD
> 
> One thing I couldn’t work into the narrative but is mildly important later is that all mer’s can change their sex as they please (perhaps not instantaneously, but they can), so culturally speaking, sex and gender are entirely separate things. 
> 
> A major difference you might note is that I fall back in using ‘she’ pronouns for Xion, my logic here being that kids have a very fluid notion of gender, and at this point she’s very young and has no problem with that at this point. Gender and sexuality can be fluid, and Xion doesn’t change theirs until a little later on. 
> 
> Another major difference in this au is that Isa is solidly bisexual, as is Comet. Because reasons. Lea is still a bisaster. 
> 
> Also I’ve been told parts of this has made some ovaries explode so. Yeah lots of cute babies ahead.

Your arms feel like jelly.

You’ve rowed a tiny little boat a way out into the relatively calm waters of the ocean, and you would not have considered yourself out of shape but apparently rowing a boat took an entirely different set of muscles than the ones you used to use moving boxes around at the transfer yards.

You shake your head. You were here to get away from all that.

You had plans here, refurbish the little house on the shore, build a proper dock to park your boat at, maybe get one with a motor for when you didn’t want to row any more. It was nice here, peaceful.

You weigh anchor, and start getting the last pieces of gear on.

The swimsuit was brand new, bought at roughly the same time you’d bought this little slice of shoreside, a full body diving thing that you hoped would last you a while here with how pricey it was. You had every intent of doing a lot of swimming though, a place like this would be a tragedy if you didn’t go out and see it sometimes.

Taking a deep breath, you dive into the depths.

Water and muffled sound rushes past your ears, lifting something in your chest as tension bleeds out of you. Light dances in blue waves, coral and reef below vibrant and colourful. Whoever had this place before you had taken good care of it.

You surface occasionally for air, but return to the depths again and again. You’ve only done this a few times, having only just moved in, but the beauty of it fills you with awe and peace in equal measure. Fish swim in seemingly random directions all around.

You close your eyes, relieving them of the sting of salt for a moment, and when you open them there’s a face directly in front of yours.

A shout rips itself from you in your shock, which is a mistake you instantly realise, as the air from your lungs escapes quickly upward in a flurry of bubbles. You flounder, panic gripping at you and you grab at the man who’d startled you. He seems equally panicked, saying something that you can’t catch before pressing his mouth to yours.

You’re stunned into stillness, at which point he blinks, grabs your arms, and drags you upwards.

You gasp and cough pathetically as you break the surface, feeling more than a little bedraggled as you cling to the man. He pats your back awkwardly.

“You uh. You okay?” He asks.

“What-” You cough again. “What the fuck was that?”

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t think you’d freak out like that.” He replies, grin lopsided. You finally have the chance to take in his face properly, slicked back and yet wild red hair and startlingly green eyes stare back at you.

“Not that!” You shake your head. “The- the kissing me thing!”

“I’m sorry, I panicked too!” He moans. “Humans need air, and I was like ‘I’ve got some air right?’ except it didn’t work and now I feel stupid.”

Humans?

You look down. The red and black stripes of a lionfish tail greet your gaze.

“You’re a mer.” You say stupidly. At least he laughs at your stunningly brilliant observation.

“Name’s Lea.” He offers his hand. “Humans greet with handshakes right?”

“Sometimes.” You say as you take his hand. “I’m Comet, they/them.”

“Nice to meet you, though I hadn’t meant for this meeting to be that.. Exciting.” He rubs the back of his head, embarrassed. “We’ve seen you swimming around here a couple times, I didn’t realise you hadn’t seen me coming.”

“Oh, is this your cove? I can leave if I’m trespassing, I didn’t know.” In fact you’d thought most of the mer pods in this area were much further off the coast. Some mer’s did like being close to shore, it wasn’t uncommon, you just hadn’t thought there were any  _ here _ .

Though you suppose that answers who’s been taking care of the coral.

“Oh no no no!” He allays. “Please come swim! It’s been really nice seeing you around, we meant to come say hello earlier but..” He shrugs. 

“Who’s ‘we’?” You ask, curious. You start paddling slowly towards your boat, which rests further away than you’d thought, and while having Lea holding you close against his (very bare) chest was certainly nice, you didn’t want to tire yourself out treading water.

“Oh!” He lights up. “Me, my partner Isa, and our kids. We got a couple sprogs named Roxas and Xion. They’re great, you should meet them sometime!”

You chuckle at the delight he has talking about his family. It’s so refreshing from the city.

“I’d be happy to.” You say, trying to climb into your boat without tipping it, always a challenge. Lea dips over to the other side with otherworldly grace and holds it steady for you. You climb in without incident and wring out the water from your braid as best you can.

“I’m guessing you’ve just moved in?” Lea asks. “We only started seeing you a week or two ago and that old shack has been empty for a while.”

You nod.

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a fixer-upper, but honestly that’s just what I needed right now. I used to live in one of the inland cities, and I really burnt myself out, you know?”

“Needed to get away. Yeah I get that.” Lea nods, and then bites his lip hesitantly. “Just a vacation then?”

“No, I’m staying.” You answer. You laugh a little to yourself at how happy he looks at that. Were all mer’s so emotionally driven? “I have some people I’m going to miss, but that place was poison to me. I’m here to start over.”

“Well I’m glad.” He grins widely at you. “Welcome to the neighbourhood, Comet.”

-

The cove here is nice, you think.

You’d come from inland, where the city never slept, and the quiet serenity of the seaside here was like a balm to your tired soul. You hadn’t been here very long yet, and in fact you’re still putting together parts of your house, but you already find yourself hopelessly attached. Your neighbors have been nothing but welcoming, and the vigorous activity putting together your house and dock were just what you needed.

Today you’re taking a break though, wandering the more isolated areas along the small river nearby. It runs clear and sharp, and you know it must not be the same one that goes through town more inland, and even at a distance you can see the dark shapes of fish in the water.

You settle in next to the babble of the creek with a book, and with the warm sun and nary a breeze to disturb you, you fall asleep.

You’re woken by rough cursing. You’re not sure how long it’s been, but the sun is still high in the sky so it can’t have been terribly long, and as your eyes blink blearily open you register splashing in the distance.

You sit up, and just upriver you can see a boy, obviously a harpy with black wings and red accents to his plumage, up to his hips in the water. He stands perfectly still before stabbing a clawed talon downward, cursing again as he apparently fails.

Huh. You hadn’t thought this area had much for Harpies. There were a few more a little further inland and on some of the islands, but this area had a very high Mer population and the two groups, while still holding their peace, still didn’t mesh all that often. Seeing one so close to the coast, especially one who looked not even into his majority yet, was a little odd.

“Hey!” You call out. The boy startles, feathers fluffing as his stance instantly goes defensive. You remain lounging on the grass, book still in one hand, as inoffensive as possible.

“You probably shouldn’t be fishing here, you could get in trouble.” You try to warn. Places like this with high mer populations tended to have designated areas for fishing, just for everyone’s safety. Some places even banned it outright, relying on trade agreements with the local mer’s to deliver catches.

“Whatever.” The boy sneers, though you’re not sure if it was intended to look like one. He has a nasty scar across his lip that pulls his lip back into a permanent sneer. He returns to looking intently into the water.

“Yknow if you’re hungry you can have some of my lunch.” You offer. Harpies were always going to be on the lean side, with the exceptions of a few larger eagle and vulture types you’d seen, but this kid looked downright scrawny. You pull out your little cooler, hoping you have something appropriate. Harpies could be pretty varied in their diets and you couldn’t tell at a glance what kind this one was.

The kid just scoffs, and he doesn’t come to shore. You shrug, pulling out and apple and biting into it. 

You stay like that for a while, watching the kid fish. He manages to catch a few, but it doesn’t seem worth the effort to you. He climbs out of the water, bedraggled and tired looking. He’s tucking the fish into a satchel that looks like it’s very nearly falling apart when you speak again.

“You sure you don’t want some sandwiches? Or an apple? I brought extra in case I got snacky, but I’m not really hungry right now.” You make your best attempt at casual. The kid eyes the open cooler hungrily.

“What do you want?” He asks, wary. You can’t help but give him an odd look.

“Nothing I guess. It was just kinda painful watching you fish and you look hungry.” You very nearly ask him where his parents are, but bite your tongue before you do. Between the scars and his lean hunger, you can draw too many conclusions, none of them good.

He perches just close enough to snatch at the cooler, drawing it away so he rifle through it without being in arms reach. You’re no expert on harpy aging, but how old was this kid? He looks like he hasn’t even hit his teens yet.

“You can just take it.” You offer. “It’s just my travel cooler, I got it for like a dollar ages ago.”

He stuffs a couple things into his sling pouch.

“Can’t carry it.” He mutters. Once he’s emptied it he gets up and walks away. For a moment you’re confused why he doesn’t just fly, but then you catch sight of just how ragged his wings look. He’s almost definitely missing at least one pinion feather, and while unlike regular birds, harpy pinions could grow back, it was still a relatively rare and certainly uncomfortable experience.

“Are you okay?” The words leave you before you can think about them. He pauses, but doesn’t stop or answer you, disappearing into the brush.

The incident sticks with you over the next few days as you put together your home. The dock is nearly complete, and a local man, Cid, has been showing you the ropes and etiquette of proper boating. You take your new boat out a few times, showing it off to Lea, who knows nothing of boating but ‘ooo’s appreciatively anyway.

“You seem down today.” Says the red-headed lionfish who is currently hanging off the side your boat, tipping it dangerously. You know he knows exactly how far to push it, so you’re not too worried, you just have to be careful of any of your own sudden movements. You shrug in response.

“It’s nothing. I just ran into a kid the other day and I haven’t been able to shake it.”

“What’d he do?” He’s got a narrow eyed suspicious look going on, but you don’t pay it much mind.

“What? Nothing. He just worried me. He just looked… I don’t know. He looked bad. I gave him my lunch but he looked so hungry I wish I could have done more. He was trying to fish in the stream when I saw him, so I’m betting he doesn’t have money to buy things.”

“You think he’s abandoned?”

“I think it’s a possibility. Or if he isn’t then someone has been a failure of a guardian to him.” You sigh. “I want to help him, Lea, but I’m barely getting settled here myself. Lunch is one thing, but I just don’t have the resources to feed a whole other person right now, you know?”

“Would fish help?” The offer is so fast you’re not sure you heard it right at first. You blink.

“Yeah, it’d help a lot. Why?”

“Hang on I’ll be right back.” He releases your boat, which wobbles dramatically for a moment as you try not to capsize, and vanishes beneath the waves. You huff. You may have only known Lea a few weeks, but that man had a gift for the dramatic that never failed to catch you off guard.

He’s not right back, and eventually you row back to your dock, very nearly complete now, and go about life. The next day you see Lea waving you down from it’s end. He’s got someone with him.

“Comet!” He says, a bright grin on his face. “This is my partner Isa!” He gestures to the large man next to him. Great white shark, you think? The man was huge, in cool blue-white tones, and absolutely covered in scars, most notably an eye-catching X across his face. He ducks his head as he’s introduced. Is he blushing?

“Oh, hello Isa.” You greet. “Lea’s mentioned you.”

“I assure you none of it is true.” He says, voice an impressively deep rumble that settles right in your chest. You laugh.

“It’s actually been mostly good, I swear. What can I do for you two, or is this just to visit?”

“Aw you know I always want to visit, but we did actually want something. Or to do something, actually.” Lea says, gesturing to Isa, who lifts one arm out of the ocean and revealing a large net full of fish.

“You said fish would help right? So we got you some fish!”

The net rests nearly as high as you are tall.

“That’s… a lot of fish.” You gape. Lea grins widely.

“Lea I don’t have anywhere to put all these.” You say, and his countenance sinks visibly.

“.. Oh.”

Isa coughs uncomfortably.

“It’s fine, they’re still alive right? We can just release most of them, and I can just keep what I CAN use.” You reassure, a smile dancing on your lips. Lea perks up again, and a ghost of a smile crosses Isa’s face.

“I told you so.” Isa murmurs to Lea, who socks him in the bicep.

“Well how was I supposed to know!”

You laugh, leaning forward to kiss his forehead.

“Thank you Lea, it’s really sweet of you to help me out like this. You too, Isa.” You don’t know Isa well enough to do the same, but you do reach out to rest fingertips against his chest, his skin smooth and wet against yours.

“Okay I gotta get something to carry these in, I’ll be right back.” You say, returning to your house. There’s some splashing behind you and frantic muttering, but you don’t quite catch what they’re saying.

You thank them again as you load wriggling fish into a carry case. Normally you would have to think about gutting and cleaning them, but since you plan on giving these to a harpy you’re not as worried about it. You’d seen enough harpies swallow things whole to know how that worked. They had teeth, but they’re used fairly sparingly as far as you know.

Now you just have to find that boy again.

You’d seen him at a distance, once, but he’d been far up a cliff side and you hadn’t had the chance to actually talk to him. It’s not quite enough for triangulation, but at least you have a pretty good idea his nest must at least be in the area.

You load up a cooler, and without a better idea, you go for a walk.

The first day turns up nothing, as does the second, but the third has you catching a brief flutter of black feathers out of the corner of your eye, and you end up calling out across the beach. He’s perched on some driftwood, tearing apart a crab, and startles as you come jogging up. He eyes you warily as you approach, but doesn’t outright flee. He has dark circles under his eyes today, and your heart clenches.

“Hey I just..” Your brain stalls. Why had you not thought about what you were going to say?

“You want something?” He asks, suspicious. You shake your head, holding out the cooler and a soft leather bag.

“I- Fuck I’m sorry, after last time I- Here. This is for you.” So smooth, Comet.

He looks blankly at it and doesn’t move.

“There’s fish. I know you said you couldn’t carry the cooler so I got a flight-safe bag too I was just keeping them cold in case I didn’t catch you today, and uh. Yeah.”

He still doesn’t move, and you put the bag and cooler on the ground before taking a step back.

He edges forward, watchful, but once he opens the cooler you can almost see his eyes widen hungrily. He starts stuffing fish into his satchel, ignoring the bag you’d provided entirely. Eventually his small satchel is full to bursting, the seams look like they’re barely holding even at a distance.

“My name is Comet.” You say. He looks up, mouth curling down.

“I don’t care.” He mutters. He can’t fit all the fish into his satchel and he looks almost desolate to leave the rest behind. 

“Why won’t you use the bag?” You ask. He sneers properly at you.

“I know what you humans are like. It’s probably got some kind of tracker on it.”

Oh jeez, who hurt this kid, you want to murder them. Poachers weren’t common anymore, but they still cropped up from time to time, usually on hire from the far inland areas that were almost exclusively human.

“I promise you it doesn’t, but I understand. I can bring you more later though, whenever you want. I have some friends who are.. Very good fishers.” You elect not to mention that they’re mer’s, just in case there’s bad blood there too, as there too often was even now. The last war may have been over for decades, but that didn’t mean everyone was always happy about it. “Wherever you want to meet, or I could even just leave them somewhere for you if that works better.”

He stares so long and hard at you that you wonder if you should repeat the offer.

“.... I’ll think about it.” He eventually says. He does a hop skip, and then manages to get airborne, if shakily. His flight feathers must be growing back in.

You pack up the cooler, and head back home.

You don’t hear anything for several days. You continue taking your walks, neglecting work on your nearly completed dock, in hopes of catching him. Lea and Isa seem almost worried the few times you see them, but your focus remains focused on the boy who has more or less fallen off the radar.

It’s getting into fall now, the sky cloudy and leaves only just starting to turn colour, and you find yourself walking along the cliff face north of your home. It’s a tall, craggy feature, and the path is somewhat treacherous, but not so much you’re worried. You do think you might have to turn back if it starts raining though.

You hear a chirp.

You don’t pay it any mind at first. Birds were a common thing along this rock face, chirping and squawking at nearly all times of day. But the chirp becomes louder, and more insistent the further you go, and when the sound of something sliding down loose shale hits your ears you jerk to attention.

A small body flops onto it’s front behind you, scattered rocks still rolling around them onto the narrow path and over the ledge into the ocean below.

It’s a harpy chick.

They blink widely, flopping ungainly wings as they struggle upright, seeming almost confused until they  spot you, and chirp loudly.

“Holy shit.” You wheeze helplessly. “Did you fall out of your nest, buddy? Where’s your parents?” You scan the sky but don’t see anyone in the immediate vicinity.. though you do see the edges of a nest some ways up the cliff face, nestled into a craig and built partly into a jutting tree root. You can only assume that’s where the chick came from.

The chick for their part only chirps more insistently, scuttling up to you and clawing at your jeans.

“Oh boy, I don’t think I can climb that, kid.” You say. The chick gives one more tug before starting the scale the cliff. They get about halfway up before turning to look back at you, face morphing into a frown when they see you’re not following.

“I don’t have talons like you, kiddo.” You say helplessly, a hint of a laugh in your tone. You don’t know why this kid wants you to follow, but it’s oddly adorable.

The chick lets out a loud squawk, startling you. They slide back down the rockface, ruffling its feathers awkwardly, and you try to catch them before they go right over the edge.

“Careful, careful.” You caution. Harpy chicks were sturdy, but they weren’t known for being great swimmers even as adults, and you definitely did not want to watch a kid drown today. The chick just squawks louder, pulling at your jacket.

“Hey hey hey, what’s wrong?” You try to soothe, knowing the babe can’t answer you. They barely look old enough to know harpy language, let alone anything humans speak around here. The chick just shakes their tiny head and bursts into tears.

“Shhh shshsh.” You pet the fluffy down and spiky hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Let’s see…” You take a look around. You definitely can’t scale the cliff, but the nest is high enough you might be able to climb down from above- yeah you can see a slightly worn path even. Still nothing meant for a human to deal with, but you think you can manage it okay. You have to take a longer route to pick up some rope and then come at the cliff from the opposite side, crying chick clinging to your neck the whole time, but thankfully you manage it without too much fuss.

The chick seems to realise what you’re doing as you tie the rope to a sturdy tree a short distance from the edge of the cliff, and bounces anxiously as you get ready.

“Alright kiddo, time to see what you want me in there so bad for.” You say. “Hopefully it’s not to serve me for dinner.” You joke, and then make a face. “Oh that was tasteless, wasn’t it. I’m sorry, kid. You wanna go first or should I?”

The kid doesn’t answer, just leans over the edge and letting out a long screech-squawk you can’t decipher. There’s no answering call though, which honestly sets you a little on edge.

You rappel down the cliff with relative ease, and set foot on a nest that’s clearly seen several generations of families before falling into disrepair. It’s open air, built with a number and variety of materials, and dug surprisingly deep into the cliff. The cloudy day and the shade of the cave mean you don’t see the dark shape curled into a mess of scavenged bedding until the chick stumbles past you to chirp helplessly at it.

“Oh shit.” You gasp when you see it. It’s the boy with the black plumage, and he looks even worse than before. His feathers are ragged and dull, the skin of his face pale and gaunt, and he pants harshly in his sleep. The chick cries again, and then looks up at you helplessly.

For a long, paralyzing moment, you don’t know what to do.

You move in, cautiously, you have no idea what would happen if the kid woke right now and found you intruding on his home, and gently check what you can. You know even less about harpy care than you do about human care, but you know he isn’t doing very well.

You need help.

You pull out your phone, and dial the nearest hospital.

They arrive quickly, and send down two nurses and lift to get the three of you out. One nurse, an elderly harpy with a kind face, tries to pull the chick from you, but the babe refuses to let go, crying loudly when anyone tries. You shrug apologetically, and offer to watch the kid while they take care of the boy.

Which is how you end up in the waiting room of a nearby healing unit with a melancholic harpy chick.

What’s strange is that the chick seems perfectly healthy. You’re no doctor, but as far as you can tell the kid is entirely normal weight wise, with a healthy complexion, and aside their obvious worry for the boy (brother perhaps?), high energy levels. Their down is soft and well cared for as you run your hands over it. It’s such a stark contrast to the black feathered boy who looked gaunt and hungry even at the best of times.

A clatter and shouting bring you out of your reverie, and the chick perks up before you even register the voice as the boy’s.

“Let me go! Get away!” His voice sound hoarse and panicked. Another clatter rattles, and the chick lets out a chirping call.

“Sora?! SORA! WHERE ARE YOU? LET HIM GO YOU BASTARDS!” The voice gets louder, and you hear a struggle.

In a moment of sheer lack of thought, you go into the room with the chick, who is wriggling in your arms trying to get towards the voice.

The boy is standing in the center of the room, surrounded by techs and nurses trying their best not to antagonise him, teeth and talons bared even as he obviously can barely stand. He sees you with the chick and snarls.

“You-!” He doesn’t get to finish, as the first thing you do is set the chick on the floor, who hurls itself at the boy’s legs and hugs them tightly, squawking desperately.

“The chick led me to you.” You say. “You were unconscious and looked sick. I was trying to help, honest.”

He pants harshly, though whether it’s from panic or just the effort of standing it’s hard to tell. The chick chirps softly, burying his face in the boys feather fluff.

He calms, if only minutely.

“I’m fine. We’re going now.”

“You are most certainly not fine.” One of the nurses, a brown feathered lady with bright green eyes says softly. Her name tag says Aerith. “You need rest and food, and a steady regime of medicine for at least the next few days.”

“Fine. I’ll get it done. I’m leaving.”

The nurse sighs.

“If you had a proper nest I might consider it, but yours is open air, and in your condition I’m hesitant…”

“I’m a harpy, we’re sturdy.” He rebuts. 

“Normally yes, but you have been worked to your limit. You need somewhere warm and dry right now.” She insists. “Especially with the chance that the chick might catch what you have too.”

That makes the boy stop solid.

“You could stay with me.” The words pop out of your mouth before you can really think about it. “It’s not a nest, but it’s warm and dry.”

The boy looks at the nurse, who’s look suggests she will not let him leave unless he agrees or offers an alternative.

“Fine.” He says. “Just for Sora’s sake.”

“Of course.” You reply magnanimously. “Come on. Let’s get you both sorted with the healers.”

The trip back is quiet. The boy is bundled in soft blankets, energy all but gone and only staying awake via sheer willpower and distrust. Your pickup isn’t made for harpies, but he’s small enough yet it’s not too much a problem to get them situated. The biggest problem is the chick, Sora, who fusses with the seatbelts, clearly disliking how it presses against his feathers.

You get home without incident though, and you make yourself busy clearing out a room for them to use and build a temporary nest in while the two of them collapse on the couch.

You come back to the boy all but passed out and Sora gnawing on a wooden figurine that had been on the side table. It’s more or less shredded, but you don’t mind, it had mostly just been to fill space while you start to fill your new home. Mostly you’re just glad there hadn’t been any varnish on that one. Your next project becomes baby proofing everything you can think to baby proof.

The boy wakes up just long enough you can push him towards the hastily constructed nest. Sora goes in with him at first, but clearly isn’t tired yet and emerges not long after. He trundles around your home, exploring, bringing you a number of things to show you.

It’s cute, and you have no problem encouraging him.

Eventually, after you’ve settled on the couch he curls up next to you, pulling the blanket draped over your shoulders over him as well. You consider moving him to the boy, but decide that you’re plenty comfortable here, and figure you’ll settle in for the night instead.

You wake to a pair of golden eyes staring at you unblinkingly from the doorway.

“Goodmorning.” You yawn. “What time is it? I’ll get your meds and food.”

Sora chirps sadly when you carefully extract him and get up, rebundling him in the blankets after. You head for the kitchen, going about putting together breakfast, the boy watching you intently the entire time.

“My name’s Vanitas.” He says after a long moment. You smile.

“Nice to meet you Vanitas.”

-

“You’re back!” Lea cheers as you sit out on the dock, swimming up in only a few long strokes. “What were you doing, we missed you!”

Isa rises out of the water just behind him, nodding softly. You duck your head, embarrassed at having ignored your friends.

“Sorry, it’s been busy. I’ve been taking care of a couple of kids, one of which has been pretty sick, so I haven’t really been able to get out. Took time off work and everything.”

“Are they doing okay?” Isa rumbles in concern. You nod.

“Better, Vanitas still isn’t at 100%, but he’s recovering. His brother, Sora is a right ball of energy I can barely keep up with.” You laugh. The other two chuckle.

“How old are they?” Lea asks, leaning against the wood of docks.

“I don’t know any hard numbers,” You admit, “But Van is only just hitting his teens and Sora isn’t even old enough to be talking anything I can understand.”

Lea glances at Isa.

“Probably around Roxas and Xion’s age.” He says, raising a brow. Isa purses his lips, debating.

“You’re thinking a playdate?”

“Oh I like that thought.” You say. “There really aren’t many kids around here Sora’s age, he could use some playmates, even if we’d have to be careful of the whole water-land thing.”

Lea nods. “Rox and Xion have a small friend group, but it’s always good to expand.” 

“And with how much time we spend with you it’s really time to start getting them acquainted anyway.” Isa adds solemnly. You’re not quite sure how that tracks, but you allow it on the basis of getting Sora some friends… and getting to meet Lea and Isa’s kids who you’ve heard so much about but never met.

“Think I should put caps on Sora’s talons? I know you guys have tough hides, but I remember you talking about how sick Xion used to get and kids don’t always know their own strength.”

“Talons?” Isa blinks.

“He’s a harpy?” Lea leans back a little.

“Yeah, they both are. Sora pulled me into their nest when Vanitas was sick to help him.” You say, trying to ignore the sudden tension. Isa shoots Lea a glance, something passes between them you can’t read, and Lea nods minutely.

“Caps might be a good idea. I’ll look into something for Xion’s mouth in case she’s teething again at that point.”

“Again?” You ask. Isa rumbles.

“She’s had the dubious pleasure of ending up with my shark genetics. She has a lot of teeth to grow in.”

“Oh man.” You wheeze. “How many chew toys have you gone through?” The shark groans.

“Too many.”

You make tentative plans, and then broach the idea with Vanitas. 

“You want to put Sora on a shoreline with a bunch of mer kids that have no concept of drowning.” He says flatly, looking at you like you’re stupid. You’d pulled the couch out from the wall so he can perch on the back, at least until you can install some proper perches for them. Vanitas seemed to have been waiting for you to kick them out, but as time had gone on and you’d made no mention of it he had started to relax. Minutely. 

But now you felt responsible for these kids, and that meant making your home a place for them too. 

“There would be three adults and you all keeping watch, nobody would let anything happen to him.” You try, but Vanitas fluffs angrily at the insinuation. 

“No. I won’t put him that close to danger.”

“I know you want to keep him safe, but he needs playmates. He’s been bored as hell cooped up in here.” You entreat. As if called, a crash echoes from the other room, sending Vanitas into a flutter panic as he checks on the errant chick. 

Sora is fine, having just tipped over a side table trying to clamber it, but Vanitas insists on giving him a full checkover regardless, crooning a soft song in a raspy voice as he does. It takes you a moment to realize it must be his family song when Sora starts automatically chirping back, a warbling tune that the energetic chick puts all his effort into as he does with all things. 

Once Van is done however Sora squirms fitfully, wanting to be let down to run. Reluctantly, Vanitas let’s him. You give him a pointed look. 

“He was fine in the nest with me. It’s fine.” The boy mutters. You sigh. 

“He’s a growing kid, and just because he was doing okay doesn’t mean things were great. Kids need to play.”

Vanitas mutters something you don’t catch. You reach out to soothe ruffled feathers, and he lets you. 

“Just think about it, okay?”

He shrugs, which is as close as you’re going to get to him agreeing. 

In the end the decision is made for him when two days later Sora goes missing. 

Vanitas goes ballistic, and in honesty you aren’t much better. After tearing the house apart you both start searching the surrounding area, you calling his name and Vanitas in an increasingly desperate screech. 

Vanitas checks the surrounding trees, and you go down to the waterfront. He’s not immediately visible so you start walking along the shoreline, calling out. 

A splash and a shout draws your attention to the water, where you see Lea with a panicked look on his face. 

“Comet! Oh seas I know this is a long shot but have you seen a little mer girl with red hair, about this age?” He holds up a small mer child with spiky blond hair and one hand stuffed in it’s mouth. 

“No, have you seen a little harpy boy with brown feathers, Sora’s missing too.”

Lea shakes his head. 

“Sorry no. I’ll keep watch. Her name is Kairi.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for both.” you promise the same before he retreats back to the sea and you continue along the beach, calling for Sora and keeping an eye along the shore for both brown and red hair now. 

You can hear Lea calling even from below the waves and your heart hurts at his desperation. You hope he finds her soon. 

“Sora! Soraaaaa!” You keep calling, peering into the trees along the beach hoping to see him, scanning the waves of the ocean hoping you don’t. 

The trees come almost up to the waterline further down the beach, and the path becomes almost nonexistent, making you trip over roots and duck under branches as you continue to call. You’re voice is getting raw and hoarse, but you refuse to stop. You have to find him. 

Your path has ended up taking you away from the edge a bit, the water coming in and out of view between the trees, and it’s only as you take another breath to shout that you hear the telltale sound of children giggling. 

Your mouth snaps shut and you stand straight, listening intently. The sound seems to be coming from further on, next to the water? You barrel towards it, nearly toppling over into the water when you stumble onto a small inlet pressed into the trees. 

You stumble awkwardly, soaking your shoes in the ankle deep water and startling the three small bodies playing in it. 

But only one catches your eye instantly. 

“Sora!” You cry out in relief, splashing towards the small harpy sitting in the shallow pool, knees going weak with relief. He perks up at seeing you, chirping brightly as you scoop him up and hold him close, trying to hold back tears and not quite succeeding. 

“Is that their name?” A small hand tugs on your pants, and you look down into the uncommonly serious gaze of a small boy who looks perhaps five years old. Looks like you have to amend your previous belief that there aren’t any other kids in the area 

“Yeah, his name is Sora, and he wasn’t supposed to be out so he scared us and we have to go home now. Where are your parents?” You ask the boy, and then you realize the other kid is still hiding behind a rock and you can’t see them. The boy shakes his head, silver hair damp and spraying droplets. 

“Mom’s around. I live over that way, I come here to play sometimes.”

“You should go home. I’m taking Sora home. Who’s behind the rock?”

“That’s Kairi. She was playing with us.”

Wait, what?

“Kairi?!” Your head snaps to the rock, and sure enough you think you catch a glimpse of red hair. “Kairi, sweetheart please come out. Lea is very worried about you.”

She pokes her head out, stare still distrustful, but she starts to pull herself forward, though it doesn’t work very well in water so shallow. 

“Shi- Nono stay there-“ You don’t want her to hurt herself by accidentally getting beached. You move to try and help but with your arms full of harpy it doesn’t work very well. The little boy rushes ahead of you though, pulling her up by her shoulders and pulling her towards deeper water. 

“Careful, careful.” You urge. “Don’t drag her dorsal fin.”

He lifts the girl a little higher, following your advice, careful to make sure he doesn’t hurt her. They get to deeper water, waist height on the boy, and Sora gives a sad little chirp, reaching out for the other kids from your arms. 

Kairi gives a little wave. 

“Can we play again later?” The boy asks, looking up at you with big green eyes. Sora chirps excitedly, wriggling and nodding. 

“I want to too.” Kairi says shyly. You sigh, keenly aware that both Vanitas and Lea are still out there panicking. 

“I’ll see what I can do. What’s your name kid?” You look at the silver haired boy. 

“Riku.” He answers simply. “I live in the lighthouse.”

Oh good, you knew that place, it was nearby. If it weren’t for the trees you’d probably be able to see it from here. 

“Okay. Like I said I’ll see what I can do, but for now I need to take these two home.”

“Okay.” He accepts easily, thankfully, though he looks a little sad. “Bye Sora. Bye Kairi.” 

Sora cheeps pathetically, wings pressed close in sadness. Riku’s eyes water but he turns away, tiny fists clenched. 

“Bye Riku.” Kairi says, reaching up for a hug, which he returns. “We’ll play soon.”

“Right.” He says as he releases her. He turns and walks into the brush without another word. 

Weird kid, you think, before turning back to your remaining toddlers. 

“Kairi, do you mind swimming close to shore so I can see you?” You ask. “I’m not comfortable just sending you out on your own.”

“Okay.” She agrees. “Cmon Sora I’ll race you!”

Sora squeaks excitedly and all but launches himself from your arms (you hiss as talons scrape them, but it doesn’t draw blood at least) he can’t fly yet, but he can manage short jumps and glide a bit, and the two are off and giggling the whole way. You jog to keep up, keeping eyes on both the trees and the water for Vanitas and Lea. 

You end up spotting Lea first, and thankfully he’s spotted you too so you don’t have to try and figure out how to wave him down from shore. He nearly rolls Kairi right over as he latches on to her. Sora squeaks and tries to go to her but you grab him before he can launch himself into the water. 

“Mischief!! Oh thank seas you’re okay where were you?” He gasps, hugging her tightly. She squirms under him. 

“Uncle Lea I’m fiiiiiine.”

“You scared me bitlet.” He says quietly, making her squirming halt. She reaches up to hug him, hearing the fear in his voice. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I was just playing with some friends.”

Lea looks up at you, sees the chick perched on your hip and smiles. 

“You found Sora too, good.”

“They were playing together actually, with another local kid.” You say. Kairi nods. 

“His name’s Riku and he was really nice and we wanna play together again later.” She says brightly. Lea sighs. 

“I’ll.. we’ll see, Okay mischief? But we should go home. I left Roxas and Xion with Isa and all three of them were very worried. Grandma too.”

“Okay.” She says, curling into his clavicle and wrapping her arms around his neck. He looks up at you as he hefts her. 

“Thank you.” He says, raw sincerity in his tone. You nod, and he disappears under the waves. 

Sora chirps at the waves all the way back to the house. You wonder if he’s trying to call her or if he’s just entertaining himself. 

You settle outside, knowing you can’t go looking for Vanitas and he probably won’t come inside until he’s found Sora, so you need to stay visible. Sora flips out of your arms and onto the soft sand of the beach behind your house. He ruffles it with clumsy wings, making sand fly everywhere, chirping delightedly. 

It’s an hour or two later when you spot a dark spot high in the sky. You get to your feet, waving your arms widely and shouting. 

“Vanitas! Down here I found him!”

The dot does half a wheel and then dives sharply. For a moment you worry he won’t pull up in time, and he almost doesn’t, skidding through the sand wildly and leaving a deep furrow behind him. 

“ _ Sora _ !” His voice is even more raspy than usual, nearly vanished from overuse. Sora cheeps brightly at him, not registering Vanitas’ distress at first, but expression falling once he does. The chick reaches up to the bigger boy, who wraps wings around him, nearly curling up on top of the small bundle of feathers. 

You can see the trembling at the edges of his feathers. 

“ _ Where were you- _ “ Vanitas croaks. “ _ What were you doing? I told you to stay put!” _

Sora warbles sadly. Vanitas curls tighter. 

“What if something-“ his voice breaks, and he can’t seem to pick it up again. 

You hear the uncertain lilt of Sora’s song lift from beneath Vanitas’ feathers, and Vanitas uncurls just enough you can see the top of Sora’s head over the edge of his wings. Vanitas tries to sing back, some of the notes echoing from deep in his chest, but everything in his throat breaks awkwardly. Still, he smiles, scar stretching back as he does, and Sora reaches up to wrap his wings over Vanitas’ shoulders in a human hug. 

“You… sc.. ared me.” He says, voice trembling. You kneel next to them both. 

“Me too. We’ll have to figure out how to keep this from happening in the future but.. for now let’s get you something for your throat.”

Vanitas nods, and he leans against you as he stands, Sora still clutched on his front. The three of you move slowly inside. 

Vanitas still doesn’t want to let Sora out, but you’re starting to wear him down, pointing out that the whole reason this happened was because Sora was bored cooped up inside. You think you almost have him when a few days later a light knock sounds politely at the door. 

“Hello- oh hi, Riku.”

“Hello mx. Comet?” He says with uncertainty, and you realize he must have gotten your name from someone else since you hadn’t introduced yourself last time. “Could Sora come out and play?”

Vanitas almost materializes next to you at the mention of Sora, scowling roughly. 

“Who are you?” He leans over the kid, looming threateningly. Riku, looks taken aback for only a moment before clenching tiny fists tightly and staring Vanitas in the eye, refusing to back down. 

“I’m Riku.” He answers. “Sora’s friend.”

Vanitas sneers. 

“Gonna go and lose him again?”

“We weren’t lost, but I won’t take him without asking first.” Riku replies, voice impressively steady for a kid his age. 

“Why should I believe that?” Vanitas snarls, leaning close so the kid can see every one of his sharp front teeth. The kid to his credit just looks impassively back. 

“Because we’re friends.”

Vanitas looks like he might say something else, but he’s interrupted by a flutter of feathers and excited chirping as Sora clambers over him to launch himself at Riku in a floundering harpy hug. 

Riku laughs as Sora beats his little wings against him in excitement. Vanitas looks like he’s swallowed something sour. Sora looks up at Van and gives a solid chirp. 

“What? No.” Is Vanitas’ instant answer. Sora just chirps more insistently, pulling Riku close and pouting. 

“I said  _ no. _ ” Vanitas says firmly. Unfortunately he doesn’t expect Sora’s lip to wobble and tears to fall down his cheeks. 

“Wait- Sora-“ Vanitas splutters, but he’s cut off by Sora letting out a long, angry screech. You don’t know what he said but Vanitas looks stricken, and you decide it’s time to step in. 

“Sora? Sora it’s okay, I’m sure we can figure something out.” You console. You know it’s bad parenting to give a tantruming child what it wants, but you also think Vanitas is being a little unreasonable. 

Sora just screeches again. Riku looks a little uncomfortable. 

“Sora, I need you to calm down or I will send Riku home and we will figure nothing out.” You say sternly. He stops screeching, but he still sniffles angrily. You sigh. 

“Okay. Thank you Sora. Now, we should respect Vanitas’ wishes, but how about this; you and Riku can play in the backyard here where we can see you. Does that sound good?”

Sora nods, wiping tears away with the back of a wing, lip still wobbling. The tears still fall though, the kid still recovering from the influx of emotions. Riku, who has been still and quiet through the little drama, reaches up to take his shirt off and tries to wipe at Sora’s face to dry it. 

_ Fuck that’s adorable, _ you think. 

“Why don’t you show Riku where the backyard is? We’ll be right behind you.” You tell Sora, who nods, and still clutching the shirt in one wing-claw flits away with Riku in tow. 

You turn back to Vanitas, who’s leaning against the wall and looking like he might pass out. Or cry. You’re not entirely sure which. 

He moves off to follow the kids before you can say anything though. You trail after them quietly, sitting silently on the strip of grass at the edge of your house and watching the kids already deep into playing in the sand. 

Vanitas perches on the grass, gaze intent, but he’s pulled tightly into himself, looking tense and stressed. 

“You okay?” You ask softly. He shakes his head. 

“I did everything for him.”

“I know. You care about him a lot.”

“He hates me.”

“No he doesn’t.” You immediately respond. Vanitas just frowns. 

“That’s what he said. He hates me.”

“You’re being overbearing, but I promise he doesn’t hate you. He’s a kid, sometimes they just get caught up in the moment.”

Vanitas is silent. His wings press even closer to his body, making the small stature of his youth stand out all the more. 

“We used to have another brother.” He says at length. You quirk your head at this new direction in conversation. 

“He was the oldest, supposed to take care of us. Sora had barely left the egg when he left and never came back.”

“Oh Van, I’m so sorry.” You don’t know what else to say. He shrugs. 

“I barely knew how to fly, but Sora needed someone to take care of him, so..”

“You did as well as you possibly could have in that situation.” You reach out to run a hand softly across his feathers and he relaxes minutely. 

“I just want him to be safe.”

“I know. You’ve had too much on your shoulders for too long, but you can’t smother him either. He needs to have space to learn and grow.”

He continues to sit in silence, but after a bit you feel him lean against you lightly, still alert but needing that small comfort. You run fingers through his hair and feathers in a way you hope is comforting. 

Riku makes a sand castle city, and you watch the two of them appear to storm the place, kaiju style. 

The sun sinks low on the horizon as their energy levels finally start to flag. Sora yawns widely and Riku rubs his eyes blearily. It’s at that point that you go up to them. 

“I think it’s time for bed. Riku do you want me to walk you home?”

“Nu uh.” He shakes his head. “I know the way. Can I come back tomorrow?”

“I’m actually busy tomorrow, but get your mum to call me and we’ll figure out a time you can come and play, okay?”

Sora brightens despite his tiredness and chirps as he makes an odd motion pulling his wings behind him. Riku nods enthusiastically. 

“Yeah! And maybe Kairi can come then too!”

“I’m sure she’d love to.” You answer with a nod. “Say goodbye, Sora.”

Sora wraps his wings around Riku, who puts a big, childlike kiss on his cheek in return. 

You escort Riku to the door at least, and then put the exhausted chick into his nest, where he’s quickly joined by his brother. 

You take a deep breath and then go out to your dock. 

Getting your boat ready to go doesn’t take nearly as long these days, but it’s still deep into Twilight by the time you get onto the water. You know you shouldn’t be out at night, but you really hope you get lucky and they’re...

“Comet? You  _ are _ out late.” Water parts as a head emerges from the depths. You feel yourself sag with relief as Isa leans against the side of the boat. 

“Could say the same to you.” You tease. “Sorry, I guess I just wanted to talk to someone after today.”

“Did something happen?” He asks, concerned. 

“Eh, tantrums, realizing how long Vanitas has been trying to parent his little brother alone, stuff like that.” You edge closer and lean against his broad shoulders, needing the comfort of contact, even if it leaves dark wet spots on your clothing. He leans his head down to touch yours, wet hair dripping into yours. 

“I wish we could help more.” He says quietly. You sigh. 

“I’ll be okay, I just needed a hug and someone to talk to after today.” 

He reaches out to take your hand in his, large fingers dwarfing yours, pulling you up and drawing you onto his chest as he leans backwards. You’re pulled from the boat and end up laying against his torso as he floats on his back in the water. He keeps one hand on your back as he floats. 

“Is this all right?” He asks quietly. “I just thought it would be better than accidentally capsizing your boat. Again.”

You chuckle. 

“This is perfect actually,” you admit. “Just so long as we don’t lose my boat.”

He laughs softly, the reverberations from his chest running through you. 

“Next time I’ll grab a rope.”

“Good plan.” You agree. “How’ve you guys been? I haven’t hardly seen either of you since that thing with Kairi.”

You can’t see his face laying on his chest like this, but you  _ can  _ feel the small sigh he gives. 

“Stressful. I’m sorry we haven’t been able to give you due attention of late, but with everything..”

“You don’t owe me anything.” You reach up to run a hand across his jaw. “But I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

You feel the muscles bunch as he smiles. 

“Thank you.” He says with feeling. “We’ve been taking care of Kairi until her grandmother can get her home suited for her. Lea has been pulling through admirably with three kids flitting around but..”

You wait, rubbing your hand across his collar, almost in a petting motion. 

“He was never particularly close with his brother, but I think the guilt of losing touch with him has made the loss hit him particularly hard.”

“His brother died?” You sit up at that news, causing Isa’s waist to dip into the water before he can compensate. 

“Along with his brothers entire pod. As far as we know Kairi was the only survivor. We’re trying to take care of her, but Lea has been struggling. His mother is going to take her on, but she needed some time to get things in order first.”

“Oh Stars, that’s awful.” You feel tears form in your eyes. “I had no idea..” Poor Lea. Poor  _ Kairi. _

“Lea didn’t want to tell you.” He admits. “He seems to think his grief will make you think less of him somehow.”

“Please tell me you told him how dumb that is. I would never think less of someone for that.” You say with firmness. He nods. 

“Of course. But he is… not acting rationally at the moment.”

“I mean do any of us, dealing with guilt and grief like that?” You murmur. He huffs. 

“No, I suppose not. I certainly cannot judge, Lea is the only reason I did not fall apart entirely when Roxas and Xion first came along.”

You lay like that for a while, drifting and bobbing across the calm waters. 

“.. can I ask…?” You’re not sure how to phrase it politely, but with that kind of lead in it felt like an invitation. 

“Of course, you can ask anything you like. And in my case it was.. I don’t know if complicated is the word, but it is close enough I suppose. It wasn’t all bad in the end, but at the time… well. The short version is my ex is something of a jerk.”

You let out a small laugh at his uncharacteristically forthright language.

“What happened?” You ask, trailing a hand through the cool waters below you, lapping at Isa’s side. 

“Our relationship was always tumultuous, but I believed it to be worth the troubles. He was charming, and attentive, drew me in by telling me exactly what I wanted to hear. Lea never liked him, but I had thought it a simple clash of personalities.”

You wait, and Isa sighs. 

“One day he simply vanished. It would happen sometimes, he had several podmates that he would check on, so I did not think too much of it at the time, until several months later he turned up once more.”

Isa takes a deep breath. 

“He dropped two children into my arms, told me they were mine, that we were done, and then left.”

“ _ Oh. _ ” You can’t help a small intake of breath at that point. “I thought-“ you break off the tactless though before you can finish it, but Isa still catches on. 

“You assumed they were Lea’s? That’s more than all right, in honesty we both prefer that. But at the time I had lost my lover, and gained two children I was in no way prepared to care for, one of which proved prone to illness very early on. I was distraught, and I foolishly attempted to make it work on my own despite being woefully unprepared both physically and emotionally, which yes, Lea reamed me out for later when he came to see me and found the sorry state I was in.”

“I’m glad he was there for you.” You say. “That must have been very hard.”

“I am grateful as well. He essentially took Roxas and Xion on himself while I got my life sorted out. To the point they more easily recognized him as family than they did me. I regretted pushing them away like that, and I’ve tried to do my best by them ever since. Lea’s help has been invaluable.”

“When did you get together then? I’d kinda assumed you guys had been a pair since forever.” Roxas and Xion were only a few years old, so it had to be less than that. 

Isa laughs. 

“We’ve been friends since our childhoods, but I fell in with Xemnas in our teens and just.. never left. Perhaps we might have been a pair sooner if it weren’t for him. Xemnas was the sort of mer who did not like to share, everyone in his pod had to belong to him and him alone, so I made the effort to not let my feelings go there. After he left I think Lea was afraid of being a rebound, and so it was actually some time before we finally got together. It’s been a couple of years now.”

“He’s a good guy.” You trace idle shaped along the water droplets on his skin. “Im glad you’re both there for each other.”

“We’re here for you too.” He says with conviction, lifting his head out of the water just enough to look at you. “We may be out of our element with harpy children, but anything we can do to help you we will.”

You feel your eyes get wet, and try not to sniffle. 

“Thanks, Isa. That means a lot to me.”

You float there a bit longer, until you nearly roll off his chest falling asleep, and Isa glides his way back to your boat and deposits you on one of the seats. You go to start getting your things together but he waves you down. 

“Rest, I will tow you back.”

You admit, you’re grateful, and Isa tows your boat that’s smaller than he is back to your dock. He waves you off again, shooing you inside towards bed, tying the boat to the dock for you and everything. 

“Tell Lea he’s not a bother, okay? He can come to me with these things.” You tell him as you leave. He smiles and nods. You glance back one last time before shutting the door to your home, watching him barely illuminated in the lights from inside, the lights casting deep shadows on deep scars and large muscles. You shake the thought from your head and head inside. 

You’re so grateful to have them to talk to. You don’t know what you would do without them. 

-

Sora is bouncing off the walls. Literally.

He flounces from surface to surface, chittering excitedly, unable to hold still. You chase after him fruitlessly.

“Sora! Sora hold on I need to- oh goddamit-” You huff as you try and catch the hurdling ball of energy. 

“SORA.” Vanitas shouts, tone hard. Sora all but freezes. Vanitas stalks up and turns the chick by his shoulders to face you. The chick smiles innocently up at your flushed face. You huff dramatically, but you’re hardly mad. His excitement is endearing.

“You excited for today?” You chuckle as you kneel down and take one of his talons in hand. He nods enthusiastically, balanced perfectly on one talon despite the frantic movement. He chirps and flaps his little wings lightly against your arms. You giggle at his antics, and Vanitas smiles indulgently.

You carefully slide the covers over each of his sharp claws one by one, making sure they won’t come off by accident by the activity always brought by small children. You put that talon down and gesture for the other one. Sora shakes the claws and makes a face, clearly not a fan of how the covers feel.

“Yeah it probably feels a little weird, but it’s just for now until you get used to playing with softer kids. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, right?” You say, and he puts on an exaggerated thinking face before nodding solemnly, and then hopping easily to the other foot.

You slip the rest of the covers on, finishing up just as Riku appears from around the hall corner, basket of snacks you’d prepared this morning in hand. 

Sora chirps and does an awkward hop-waddle over to him, clearly adjusting to the covers. Riku laughs, and Sora pouts.

“Alright, we ready to go? They’re probably going to show soon.” You say, and both kids waste no time running for the door, bursting through in a flurry of feathers and giggling. You and Vanitas follow at a slightly more sedate pace. 

You’re only just digging toes into the sand of the beach when you see a bright head of red hair crest the waves a short distance out to sea. A moment later Isa’s distinct blues follow. Lea spots you and waves enthusiastically before diving forward and popping up again the shallows in a matter of seconds. 

“Comet!” He crows. “And.. Vanitas, I assume? I’m Lea.” 

Vanitas nods. 

“I am. This is Sora.” He gestures to the chick who shifts and peers out into the waves anxiously, obviously looking for Kairi. Riku stands just behind him, looking up at the approaching bulk of Isa in something akin to awe. 

“This other little guy is Riku.” You offer, since Vanitas doesn’t seem to care to. Riku seems to realize he’s staring, and raises his hand almost shyly in greeting. 

“Hello. Is Kairi with you?” He asks, and Isa chuckles at his forthrightness. He lifts one large arm, revealing the riding pouches strapped to his side, and allowing three small bodies tumble out with a combined squeal. 

“May we introduce Kairi,” the little red headed girl you’d met before wastes no time wiggling forward to pull Riku down for a hug. Sora tries too, but he’s pulled back by Vanitas before he can flounder into the water. 

“Roxas,” Isa gestures to the little blond Lea had been with before who lets out a loud click-call that almost sounds like a challenge as he slaps his tail against the water surface. Sora chirps back and flaps his wings excitedly. The enthusiasm seems to take Roxas back a bit, and some of the challenge bleeds out of him as Sora smiles brightly at him. 

“And Xion.” He finishes, nudging forward the little shark girl who despite being significantly larger than her twin shrinks in on herself as if to reduce the difference. Sora chitters and scrapes his claws against the sand, but it’s only when Riku tilts his head and offers her a gentle smile and wave that she returns and grows a little more comfortable. 

It sets something at ease in you that you hadn’t even realized was tense when the kids all seem to hit it off. The mer kids have to stay in the shallows of course, and Vanitas watches intently to make sure Sora doesn’t go too deep, but the middle ground seems to work surprisingly well as the kids dig into the wet sand and splash each other in the waves. Xion and Roxas are slightly younger than Kairi, but not by much. There’s nearly an incident when Sora, curiosity overcoming the young chick, conspires with Xion to inspect her many teeth…. which is to say he stuck a wing claw in her mouth while she held it as wide as she could. The whole thing causes Vanitas to hover angrily for a bit, and you attempt to lecture them both on the manners of sticking things in each other’s mouths. 

You hope you don’t have to have this conversation again for a least another fifteen years. 

Isa curls his large body around the group, tail almost creating a small still pond so the non-Mers aren’t rocked by any stray waves. Vanitas still watches like a hawk (is that a stereotype? You feel like that’s a stereotype), and you feel safe in taking a short break with Lea a short distance off. 

You rest partly on the sand, feet dipped in the cool ocean water. Lea lay’s on his front, half in the water and watching the proceedings and looking like he might fall asleep in the warm sunlight.

“I heard about your brother.” You say, and you see him wince. The shadows beneath his eyes seem to grow darker. 

“Isa told you, huh.” He says. 

“Don’t blame him. We were both stressed and needed to unload. I’m a little disappointed you thought I’d think less of you if you told me you were hurting though.” You keep your eyes trained down the beach towards the kids. Xion appears to have all but latched onto Riku, hiding behind him as Roxas flounders awkwardly trying to catch her. 

“I didn’t- I just..” Lea flounders himself. “I don’t think that. I just.. needed time to work myself out. I want to be a good provider, but it felt like everything was falling apart. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” You sigh. “Grief is tough. I just want you to know you can talk to me. I’m never going to judge you for needing a shoulder to cry on.”

“Thanks.” He says softly. He hesitates a moment, and then leans against you. His shoulder is dry, and you can feel the subtle scales in his skin rub roughly against yours.

It’s a good afternoon. Quiet. 

You set the kids to bed late that night, the nest in your former guest room is nearly complete now, and you’re getting used to ducking under the random perches now nailed into the walls at random intervals. Eventually you want to get something proper set up, perhaps an extension or extra floor? But for now you content yourself with ducking, since the halls aren’t wide enough to go around.

Vanitas loosens up as he grows more comfortable with the family of mer’s, helped in no small part by Sora’s absolute delight every time he gets to see them. Regular playdates become a thing, and Riku shows up at your door even more often, looking for his new friend. You get the feeling Riku didn’t have many friends before meeting Sora and Kairi.

Despite how busy your life becomes with the kids and hanging out with Lea and Isa, you still manage to find time for other things. There’s a couple places in town you like to go sometimes, and every now and again you like to call up Cid and go ou with his crew, just to see how he’s doing.

Cid was gruff, crusty old bastard, but he’d had nothing but useful advice for you when you had been starting out. He made a strong appearance of having little patience for mistakes, but all the same he had never kicked you off his boat or declared you an entirely lost cause.

… Well he had, but hadn’t meant it.

Cid has a small crew he often mans with, having a larger boat built for actual seafaring, and they all greet you warmly as you board once more, having known you when you’d first signed on to learn. An older woman knocks hips with you as she passes, nearly knocking you overboard in her excitement. You laugh and get yourself situated with the crew.

“Had enough of the fish life you had to come back to us, eh?” She laughs, and you knock shoulders with her in return for her earlier bump.

“Sometimes I gotta remind myself how good I’ve got in now.” You shoot back. “Nice to see you, Adira.”

“Surprised to see you, bit.” She says. “I seen those mers hanging around your bit of reef. If I had manmeat like that? Mh. I’d never leave.” She licks her lips lewdly, and you snort.

“They are certainly pretty.” You admit. “But they’re a pair, don’t get nasty.”

She gives you a strange look, but is interrupted when Cid calls for cast off, and the whole boat comes alive with movement. 

There’s something exhilarating, being out on the sea with a full crew like this. You can’t get all that far in your little boat, but a ship like this can go much farther much faster. Even during the calm, quiet moments it has an energy you can’t get anywhere else.

The boat comes to rest well out of sight of shore, and Cid starts to gear up.

“Toval, get that rope put away it’s a goddam tripping hazard. Emmery, where are my gloves?” He barks. Several crew members help him suit up, strapping oxygen tanks to his back and strapping him in.

You don’t know the details of the ruin he’s going to explore today, just bits and pieces you’ve heard from other crew members. It wasn’t your thing really, and usually most exploration efforts underwater were led by mer’s, but Cid had a need to see things for himself that could not be quenched by something so banal as more practical solutions. He was an explorer, through and through.

He makes several trips throughout the day, running several tanks empty as he catalogues the sunken ruin. The sun is starting to sink low in the sky when someone inally tugs on his return line and he grudgingly returns to the ship.

The return to shore is delayed by a large pod of mer’s crossing through the shallower waters of the docks, and the crew ends up lounging about as you wait for them to pass. You lean against the bannister, admiring the vibrant pinks and oranges of the setting sunlight against the glinting ocean, when you see a large shape circle around the boat.

You have a bare moment to think that it looks familiar when suddenly it launches from the water, spraying water in every direction, revealing Isa as he sails gracefully over the boat. He moves as if in slow motion as you look up at the massive bulk soaring above you, awe in your face and mind at the sheer display of power and finesse.

And then he crashes into the water once more, large waves crashing against the boat and sending it rocking wildly. You grip the railing tightly as you’re rushed with water, and you hear Cid cursing grandly from the other end before you lose your grip and are tossed into the ocean.

You feel large hands grab you, and you break the surface a moment later. You hear coughing nearby and you see two other crew in Isa’s other hand. You look up and he seems genuinely embarrassed, blushing faintly.

“Are you alright?” He asks and you manage a nod. You were thoroughly bedraggled but fine, as were the other crew by the looks of things. 

You can still hear Cid cursing up a storm. The boat is still upright, but it clearly hadn’t been by much. Isa let’s the two crew go to float and reaches out a hand to steady it. Cid’s cursing gets louder. 

“Don’t you- get your goddamn hands off my fucking ship you hooligan!” He shouts. “This is too goddamn far, you hear me! I wasn’t gonna say anything but now you’ve gone and nearly capsized my ship! You wanna do your little courtship shows fine! But take it! Somewhere! Else!”

“My apologies.” Isa says, but he’s summarily drowned out by Cid’s angry shouting. Isa deposits you back on deck, along with the other two crew members, and then vanishes into the deep, radiating embarrassment.

You stand on the deck, still trying to process what you’d just heard.

“Fucking hell, Comet. It was cute at first but you had better lay out some ground rules for those assholes before I do it for you and they need a visit to that new mer doctor in town.” He growls. You shake yourself.

“I’ll talk to them, but it’s not like I can control what they do. I don’t know what he was thinking, trying that, to be honest.” You protest. He snorts, digging into one waterproof pocket to pull out a cigarette.

“Thinking with the wrong head he is. Just tell ‘em to stop, they’ll listen. Courtship rules are serious business with those folk.” He fishes for a lighter, only to growl angrily when he finds it waterlogged. He chews on the end of his cigarette futily.

You freeze again. Apparently you hadn’t misheard.

“They’re- we’re not- it’s not a courtship thing.” You stutter. Distantly, you hear Adira bark a sharp laugh from where she’s helping the crew dry off. Cid eye’s you with a long, flat stare.

“You doubting me, kid?” He says. “Cause it’s been a long goddamn day now and you better not be doubting me.”

“Cid they’re not courting me.”

He snorts.

“You think I’m joking? I know what I’m talking about kid, my wife’s a fish.”

Wait, what?

“You.. could have mentioned that.” You say, a little stunned. What even was today? You’d heard all sorts of stories about Shera, but this is the first you’ve heard of her being a mer.

He shrugs.

“Wasn’t relevant. Point stands, those fuckers are courting you, and if they wreck my boat doing it, I’m gonna wreck  _ you _ .”

Cid loves his ship, you don’t doubt it.

You walk home in the dark, and though you see the two dark forms hanging around your dock, whispering loudly to each other, you aren’t sure if you want to face them yet.

You take the front way into your house for once, hoping they don’t see you. Vanitas and Sora are both long since in their nest and asleep. You leave the lights off, crawl into bed, and then stare at the ceiling.

It’s a long night.

You wake early, before even Vanitas or Sora have risen, and go to sit out on the end of your dock. You don’t take the boat out this time, though you know it would be a faster way to see them. You wait.

The sunrise is pretty at least, brilliant colours reflecting off the dark clouds gathering at the edge of the horizon.

Two hours later you see the telltale shadows of shapes beneath the water in the distance. They circle for a bit, almost cautiously, before Isa’s head slowly emerges from the water, followed by Lea just behind him.

He approaches slowly, as though waiting to be told off. He looks so hesitant and unsure your heart goes out to him.

You keep quiet as they approach, wanting to see what they’re going to do first.

“I’m sorry.” Isa apologizes. “I did not think my actions through and I’m mortified by my thoughtlessness. I place myself at your whim.” 

He sinks low in the water, and you think he might have prostrated himself before you if he’d been human.

“Cid says you’re courting me.” You can’t help it, you need to get to the meat of the matter before you can make any kind of decision right now.

“Yeah? We know we fucked up, we’re sorry.” Lea pipes up. Isa nods.

“We understand if this mistake makes severing the courtship necessary. I put your life in danger, and that is unconscionable.” Isa says, eyes cast downward.

You lean back, processing.

“Isa, Lea… were you aware I didn’t know you were trying to court me?”

Isa freezes, still staring into the water, and Lea jerks back.

“What?” Lea gives a strangled noise. You nod.

“I had no idea until Cid told me yesterday.”

Isa sinks further into the water, still unblinking, until only the tips of his ears break the surface, the tips of which are flushing brightly. Lea laughs through the sheer mortification.

“Oh seas, Comet, fuck I’m sorry. We’re a couple of right fuckups, aren’t we?”

Isa rises from the water just enough to speak.

“We’ll go.” He murmurs, taking Lea by his bicep and turning in the water. Lea gives you a mournful look but offers no resistance, turning into the water in one smooth motion and swimming away with strong strokes.

“Wait, wait-” You call, standing, but they have bother already disappeared under the water and swimming away quickly. You jump into the water, but there’s no way for you to catch up to powerful mer tails with your small legs. They’re long out of sight by the time you’ve made it only a few feet. You curse to yourself, feeling tears well in your eyes.

_ Idiot, _ you berate yourself,  _ shouldn’t have led like that. _

_ What if you never saw them again? _

You stay out there most of the day, only returning to the house when your hunger demands it. You pass Sora and Vanitas playing on the perches in the hall, and feel the knife twist further. You hadn’t even thought about how this might affect them. Would Sora lose his new friends too? That wasn’t fair at all.

You give them a smile, but judging by Vanitas’ confused head tilt it probably wasn’t very convincing. Still, he doesn’t pry as you make yourself dinner. It tastes ashy and lifeless in your mouth but you eat it anyway.

“I’m surprised you two aren’t out.” You say as you watch Sora flit from pole to pole. “It’s a beautiful day.”

Vanitas ruffles his feathers.

“No way, not today.” He huffs. He holds a toy just out of Sora’s reach playfully, much to the chicks consternation.

You let yourself have a small laugh at their antics before returning outside, letting Vanitas know you’re probably going to be out for a while.

He gives you another strange look. 

You look at the dock for a long moment before making a decision. You uncover your little boat, and untie it from the dock, getting it ready to go. The clouds in the distance look ever angrier, but they’ve been gathering since early this morning and you hope you have enough time to go out and catch them before they strike shore.

You row out into the deep. The shore gets smaller and smaller behind you as you row, and you wait and watch and hope to see those tell tale dark shapes beneath the surface, but nothing comes.

Eventually, you have to rest. You don’t normally have to go so far, usually long since stopped by one mer or the other, eager to see you and stop for a chat. But no one has come, and you feel your heart sink into your feet.

Finally you let the influx of regret and disappointment take you, and you sink to the floor of your ship, curling into a ball to weep. Tears pour from your eyes freely into the open silence of the still waters, bitter laments in each drop.

Eventually you sniffle and raise your head, rubbing roughly at stained cheeks, feeling the dry headache starting to pound behind your eyes. You give yourself a shake, and sit up once more, noting that the clouds from earlier are suddenly much closer than they were.

You hadn’t thought you’d been crying for that long, and your suspicions are confirmed when even as you watch you feel the wind start to pick up around you, rocking your little boat fitfully on the water. Cursing, you grab your oars and start to row towards home. You’d thought the storm was further out than it was and now you risked getting caught in the middle of it. Foolishness.

Rowing grows more and more difficult as the wind picks up and the waves grow higher. Rain starts to fall around you, soaking you with a chill that sinks bone deep far too quickly. You shiver, but keep rowing, keeping eyes on the distant shoreline even as the sky grows dark and the line becomes hazy and indistinct.

A large wave hits your boat and knocks you sideways, near winding you as you hit the wall of the boat. You lose one of the oars and though you know they float you immediately lose sight of it and you know already it’s long gone. You wrestle with your remaining oar, trying with all your strength to keep rowing with one oar, alternating from side to side.

Another wave crashes into you, and suddenly your whole world is nothing but

water.

You tumble gracelessly, desperate and confused, feeling near weightless in the tumultuous seas.

It’s so dark.

Panic grips you. You claw fultily at the water, trying desperately to figure out which way is up, mind racing.

Gods, what would happen to Vanitas and Sora if you drowned here?

Your lungs burn, chest clenching as it begs for air. Bubbles churn around you, you still don’t know which way is up.

You’d let them down.

You wanted to live.

Numbness seizes your limbs despite the panic seizing your mind. You float almost lifelessly as the water above is buffeted wildly.

You were going to die not even sure if you were staring into the dark of stormclouds or the murky deeps of the ocean.

You would have cried if you could.

You hear a voice.

The world goes dark.  
  
  


You hear the soft lap of water against something solid. You mind is groggy and unfocused, and you groan fitfully as consciousness returns like tar oozing through cracks. Your head pounds with the strength only a migraine could have, and every limb feels like it’s made of lead.

But you’re alive.

You blink reluctant eyes open, and are faced with what looks like a cave ceiling, coated in moss and flowers. You sit up, taking in the little cave. It’s round with a pool in the centre, sloping edges into the water with only a shallow flat area where you rested. There are some assorted items that look like they’ve been hastily shoved aside to make room for you. 

There’s no exit. 

Before panic can grip you at that fact there’s a small splash and a head breaks through the water of the pool. 

“Xion?” You croak, voice crackling from disuse and salt water. She looks up at you with a hand in her mouth, chewing fitfully. There are no tears, mers can’t cry, but her face has every other marker of being overwhelmed and she sniffles loudly. You shuffle your heavy body onto the slope into the water and reach out to her. 

“Oh no no no it’s okay. Come here, everything’s fine.” You soothe, and she all but launches herself into your arms, sobbing loudly. You rub soothing circles into her back as she trembles. 

“We thought you died!” She cries. “You weren’t moving and daddy had to call the doctors and you still wouldn’t wake up and, and-“ she babbles before stuffing her face into your side and the words become incoherent. 

There’s another small splash and you look up to see Roxas’ unruly head of hair popping out of the water. He doesn’t launch himself at you like Xion, instead winding himself around her to grab tight hold of one of your legs resting in the water. He wraps himself around it, holding so tightly you think you might start losing circulation, but you don’t tell him to stop. You reach down to pat his head gently. 

You hadn’t thought they had been that attached to you, if you were being honest. Most of their time ashore had been with Sora and Riku. You had just been another supervising adult, or so you’d thought. 

Apparently not though. 

You let them work through their emotions, as slowly the shaking stops, though their grips on you remain tight. You end up humming an old lullaby, hoping to soothe them, and it seems to work when soon enough both of them are fast asleep, tiny bodies worn out from the strong emotions from earlier. 

Neither Lea nor Isa make an appearance and it makes your heart sink. 

“You’re awake!” It’s Kairi, who emerges the smoothest of the three from the pool, and she smiles brightly with relief. “I was so worried I came over as soon as uncle Lea told me are you okay humans can’t breathe underwater I learned that in class you shouldn’t do it it’s bad for you!”

“I’m fine, Kairi.” You laugh, though your throat still hurts. “I’ll try not to in the future. Could you do me a favour?”

She nods with an exaggerated motion, determination filling her features. 

“Could you tell Lea and Isa I want to see them?”

She nods again seriously and disappears under the water. 

You wait. 

You wait some more. 

Finally you see two heads break the still water surface. The cave isn’t that big, and with Isa’s sheer mass you have the distinct impression of them being crowded in the narrow doorway of a room not big enough to enter. 

“Oh, of course, we will take them off your hands. I’m sorry they disturbed you.” Isa murmurs deferentially, not meeting your gaze. He reaches for the sleeping sprogs but you smack his hand away. 

“Oh my gods leave them alone that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.” You huff. Isa blinks and leans back. 

You heave a breath. Okay.

“Why do you seem to think I rejected you?” That should be a good place to start, right? Isa and Lea exchange a glance.

“You didn’t know we were trying to court you.” Lea tries. “If you didn’t realise then.. Well…”

“There cannot have been much reciprocation.” Isa finishes, voice low

You want to strangle them both.

“Do you guys remember where I told you I came from?”

“Inland, right?” Lea answers, confused. You nod.

“You were the first mer’s I had ever met. And I’ve been trying to learn your customs, but I don’t know anything about your courtship rituals.”

You take another deep breath, even though it hurts your lungs.

“Which is why, if we’re going to do this, I want all three of us to use our words. No assuming the gestures that mean something to you are going to mean something to the other person.”

There’s a pause as you watch the words visibly sink in. Lea almost physically lights up, the wide smile blooming on his face as he registers what you’ve offered. Isa just looks stunned speechless.

“You mean it? You’ll accept our courtship?” He enthuses, and you nod.

Isa moves forward gently, mindful of his bulk as he moves around Lea and toward you. He ducks his head low once more.

“We will make every effort to be worthy of this chance.” He says. You try to reach down to pull his head up, but you can’t quite reach with Xion still in your lap. You settle for resting your palm against his temple.

“Just no more running off before I can explain things, yeah?” You say with a halfhearted laugh. It manages to pull a small, shy smile from him though, so you call it a win.

“It’s funny, Kairi doesn’t seem all that bothered by the whole situation, considering, well...” you wince at your own tactlessness at bringing up her family and are justly rewarded with Lea and Isa pulling back and looking very uncomfortable at the statement.

“She doesn’t remember.” Isa murmurs. “Ever since, it’s like the whole concept of death flies right over her head.”

“She has no idea what happened to her family, and if we’re being honest.. I think it might be better that way. The way she was found- no kid should have those kinds of memories.” Lea says with averted eyes.

“Gods, I’m sorry, that was really tactless of me.” You say. Lea shakes his head.

”We will have to deal with that eventually I think, but not right now.”

The three of you sit quietly for a minute, and you run light fingers over Xion and Roxas’ still damp hair.

“... Lea, Isa.. How did I get here?” You have to ask eventually. The last you remember...

“You nearly drowned.” Lea says factually, but with pain on his face. 

“You were closer to home then you were to the surface by that point, so we brought you here.” Isa continues. “Luckily some of the mer doctors have been working with the human contingent on the surface and had a good idea of how to help you through, but you’ve been out for some time.”

“Wait, how long?” You ask, sudden nervousness coiling in your gut.

“Two days.”

“Oh gods, oh fuck, please tell me someone told Van where I was.” You plead. Isa winces.

“We tried.” Lea says. “I’ve actually been making trips every few hours trying to catch him, but we can’t get up to the house and the one time I saw him he was flying so high I don’t think he could hear me.”

“What about Cid, or even Riku?” You continue, fear crushing your throat and chest.

Vanitas probably thought you had abandoned him too. Gods.

Isa shakes his head.

“Cid hasn’t been out since I nearly capsized his boat and we haven’t seen little Riku at all.”

“I need to get home, now.” You say, already extricating yourself from the limbs of tiny mer’s. Lea dips into the water and comes back with a charm necklace and what looks like a large bubble.

“Here, we’ve had these a while, hoping you could visit eventually-” He hands both off to you, and then Isa helps you put both on, the charm over your neck, and the bubble around your head.

“For combating ascension sickness, and the bubble for air. We thought you might want to go straight there rather than stopping for air.”

You nod. You need to get home right now.

The children are pulled from you, though they sleepily try to hold on. You assure them both that you’ll see them later, and then you’re pulled into the ocean depths and speeding towards home.

You never realised just how fast mer’s could go, especially someone of Isa’s impressive size, and in any other situation you would have found it exhilarating.

You’ll have to ask them if they’ll take you on rides like this in the future.

For now though it seems only minutes before you see the ground below sloping sharply upwards and you know the shore is close. Isa and Lea slow as the sand draws near and all three of you break the surface at nearly the same time, the bubble dissipating as you hit air. You step onto the sand with surprisingly wobbly feet, calling out as loud as your voice will let you.

“Van? Vanitas! Sora!” It’s not nearly loud enough, you think, and you start stumbling for the house, still dripping wet and probably looking like some kind of lake monster.

There’s a bang and you see the back door swinging on its hinges, Vanitas silhouetted in the frame. He has a wide eyed look you can’t decipher. You hope desperately it isn’t betrayal.

“M-aw!” Comes a tiny little screech, and Sora has all but thrown himself into your arms, sobbing and screeching in turns. Your wobbly legs can’t take the weight and you topple into the sand, clutching him tightly to your chest and feeling your eyes fill with tears.

“M’aw! M’aw!” He calls over and over, and you realise just what he’s trying to say, in your own language. Your heart breaks at what you had almost accidentally left behind.

“I’m sorry, Sora. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone so long.” Your voice cracks and breaks miserably, tears spilling down your cheeks. “I would never do that to you if I had a choice.”

Vanitas is still standing at a distance though, face unreadable.

“Don’t blame them.” You hear Lea behind you. “It’s.. our fault, really.”

“They came looking for us, and got caught in the storm. They nearly drowned and have been unconscious since.” Isa supplies.

Vanitas’ mouth just tightens.

“You knew there was a storm coming.” Is all he says.

“I thought it was further out than it was. I know, it was stupid.” You say. “It won’t happen again.”

Vanitas ruffles his feathers angrily.

“I told you there was a storm coming!” He shouts. And before you can voice your puzzlement suddenly your arms are full of yet another harpy. He’s getting big now, nearly as big as you, but he still feels so small when he has his head ducked into your neck and you can feel the faint trembling in his limbs.

“I’m sorry, Van. I’m sorry.” You whisper, stroking your hand across feathers and hair, trying to soothe as best you can.

You stay there until Sora cries himself to sleep and Vanitas refuses to let go. You end up sunburning, but you refuse to complain about it.

It’s just good to be home.

-

Life with two mer boyfriends and four kids is… interesting.

you wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Sora takes the news that Roxas and Xion are basically his new siblings like a kid being told he can have extra dessert after dinner. He chitters excitedly all day, and flounces to them both to wrap them in big childish hugs the next time he sees them, hardly able to contain himself. You settle yourself between Lea and Isa with a laugh, watching the three of them chatter at each other and play across the sand.

Sora hasn’t said another word in your language since your return, but him, Roxas and Xion seem to make it work as they always have through a combination of mime-ing and simple child's play. Van doesn’t seem worried by Sora’s reluctance to speak, so you don’t either. He’ll do it on his own time- or perhaps he never would. It didn’t really matter, you supposed. He was happy.

It takes you a surprisingly long time to recover from your ideal, and the first few times the family of mer’s come to spend the day you end up nearly asleep against either Lea or Isa. Your chest still hurts sometimes, and without a boat you haven’t been able to get out on the water.. Something you’ve been low key thankful for.

You know you’ll have to face it eventually, especially if you want to keep dating two mermaids.

You lay on your front on the end of your dock on evening, trailing your hand through the water, thinking hard about just that.

“You alright? You look a thousand league’s away.” Lea says, wrapped around one of the support beams casually and resting his arms against the dock next to you. You shrug.

“Just thinking, I guess. I don’t want to be scared of the water now, but…”

He purses his lips, thinking hard.

“You did go through something pretty scary.” He admits. He brightens up, like he has an idea, and unwinds from the pillar taking your hands in his as he goes.

“What are you doing?” You ask, and he grins.

“Face your fears, right?” He says. “The ocean is dangerous, but I want you to be able to enjoy it with us too. Let me show you.”

You take a moment to look into his earnest face, think about how you feel, and then you slip into the water behind him.

“Okay, let’s go.” You say. His grin widens and your linked hands grow tight. You take a deep breath and then you’re off like a shot.

You were right before, it is exhilarating.

The sheer speed that Lea can cut through the water is entrancing, the sharp turns and acrobatics he can make all the more so. He stops to get you another bubble, and then he takes you even further into the deep.

The bright corals of the reef gives way to thick weeds and pastures of green no less beautiful, which then give way to rocky craigs full of schools of fish and dark caverns. He shows you how to move with the tides, and how to show yourself as non threatening to the non-sentient ocean life.

It helps.

You’re still aware of the power the ocean wields. You always would be, and you don’t want to forget that, but here in this moment hand in hand with a loved one showing you something so beautiful?

The fear isn’t quite so paralyzing.

You return home late in the afternoon, exhausted but satisfied, and judging by Lea’s expression he’s feeling much the same. You grin widely and collapse backwards into the sand, uncaring of the grit that sticks solidly to your wet hair and back, giggling lightly.

Lea laughs himself and drags himself halfway onto shore to rest beside you, draping one arm over your midsection.

“Leaving the city was the best decision I ever made.” You say into the darkening sky.

“Damn straight.” Lea says.

You lay that way for a bit until you have to give in and sit up. It was getting late.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow, right?” You ask, and Lea nods, but it’s hesitant.

“Yeah. Xion hasn’t been feeling well lately though. She’s trying to hide it, but we can tell. I don’t want to push it in case she relapses.”

“It’s only been a year or two since her last incident, right? It’s okay, I’m sure I can explain to Sora if you can’t make it.” You assure, and he smiles gratefully.

“I’m sure it’s just a cold and we’re just being paranoid, but yeah. We’ll play it by ear, see how she’s feeling tomorrow.”

You lean down to kiss him softly.

“Well, fingers crossed, then.” You whisper and then turn to walk up towards your home.

The muffled squeal and barely suppressed splashing behind you is exactly how you feel about it too, blushing from head to toe.

The night passes both incredibly quickly and agonizingly slowly.

The next morning you try to tell Sora that Xion might not be able to come today, but you’re not totally sure he hears you. He’s bouncing off the walls as usual, all too excited at the thought of his friends coming to visit. He flutters from perch to perch, and you note his glides are getting much longer and less wobbly these days. You wonder how long it will be before he starts flying properly.

To your surprise you see the whole family when you emerge out onto the sandy beach. Kairi is absent, but you had known beforehand that her grandmother wanting to take her somewhere today.

Sora bounces forward and greets Roxas and Xion with his usual aplomb. They giggle uproariously as you settle in at a short distance with Van. Isa doesn’t bother creating the pool today, the waves already exceptionally calm and the kids further into the sand than usual. He rests only the very top of his body in the sand, large tail swaying lazily behind him in the shallow water. Lea drags himself up to flop on top of him as he smiles indulgently. You scoot over to lean against Isa’s chest yourself, taking in the steady beat of his heart along with the warm sun above. 

Van doesn’t join you, but he perches nearby, still keeping himself on alert despite being far more relaxed than he has been in the past with these meetups. It’s progress and you’ll take it.

Riku shows up a few minutes later with snacks his mother had apparently sent him with. The horde descends upon them with characteristic vigour and within minutes there’s virtually none of it left. 

It’s all going swimmingly right up until it’s not. 

The first thing you notice is actually when Vanitas tenses up, sitting ramrod straight and looking toward the clustered kids with a deathly intense look. When you glance over yourself you don’t really recognize anything is wrong at first, until you see Roxas push Riku sharply as he hovers over a disturbingly still Xion. 

“Don’t touch her!” He shouts in his tiny voice. “This’s your fault!”

You’re on your feet and running by the time Roxas is halfway through yelling, and though Isa and Lea can’t move all that quickly on shore like this, they’re not far behind you. 

“What happened, what’s wrong?” You demand as you come upon them. Sora hops from talon to talon in distress, and Roxas bares tiny but sharp teeth at Riku, who looks worried and confused. Xion lies in the soft sand, eyes closed and gasping softly. Your heart beat seizes in concern. 

“He poisoned her! It’s his fault!” Roxas points at Riku, who shakes his head. 

“No I didn’t!”

“Liar!”

“Roxas, stop.” Isa’s voice is soft but firm as he scoops the child up into one large hand, allowing Lea to pull himself up to Xion and start checking her over. Riku backs away until he has a tiny fist buried in the fabric of your shorts, shaking his head. 

“No! No! Lemme down, get away from him!” Roxas squirms in Isa’s grip, shouting hoarsely. 

“Roxas you ate the food too, if it were poisoned wouldn’t you be sick too? Or Sora?” You try to reason with him, but he just shakes his head stubbornly, breathe hitching with sobs. 

“She can’t get sick again.” He cries. “S-she can’t!”

You feel Riku trembling at your side and you reach down to run a comforting hand across his hair. 

“I know, Roxas. It’ll be okay, we’ll call a doctor and they’ll make sure she’s right as rain, okay?”

“We’re too far away from home.” Lea chews his lip. “It’s a long way to the nearest mer doctor and I’m worried about moving her.”

“After last time-“ Isa shakes his head. “We can’t just leave her here either. She will bake in the sun at the very least.”

That at least you can help with. 

“Sora,” You call, and he looks up at you with watering eyes. “Do you remember where the big umbrella is? I need you to go get it.”

He nods once and takes off like a shot. Vanitas hesitates a brief second before following after him. 

“I know it’s a long shot but there is a doctor in town here that just moved in. They’re supposed to specialize with mer’s. I know you’d prefer an actual mer healer but if home is too far…”

“We’ll take it.” Lea says instantly, relief stark on his features. 

“Please call them. Xion nearly died the last time they got sick, I will take any help we can get.” Isa curls around all three of them, Lea, Xion, and Roxas, the last of which sobs quietly into Isa’s chest. 

You nod, and then make a break for the phone. 

The wait for the doctor is one of the more painful waits you’ve done in your life. Sora holds the umbrella carefully, taking his appointed job seriously, shifting it as needed to keep as much of her covered as he can. The rest of you move water to keep Xion hydrated and cool, you using some buckets you had around and Isa just using massive hands. Roxas tries to help for a time but between his lack of legs and short reach eventually he just lays next Xion, curled next to her protectively. 

Despite his need to be near Sora, you manage to convince Vanitas to stand watch for the doctor, since the beach isn’t visible from the road and you want them to get here as soon as they can. 

It feels like an age passes before you hear distant voices, and Vanitas emerges from the front with another harpy in tow, a tall swan lady who exudes an air of grace and regality despite her hurried pace. 

Vanitas flits off to hover near Sora as she nears, and you catch her giving him the smallest frown as he goes. You wonder what happened, but though you don’t like it, Xion’s health takes priority. 

“You’re a harpy?” Lea sits up in confusion. Isa likewise has a doubtful look on his features. You have to admit, you’d never heard of a mer specialist being a harpy before. 

She sighs like she hears this all the time, which in reality she probably does. 

“Yes, I’m a harpy. My name is Aqua and I specialize in rare diseases but I know more than enough regular medicine to help, I promise. May I see her?” 

Lea and Isa exchange a glance both with each other and with you before slowly uncurling themselves from Xion’s prone form. She’s still unconscious and gasping like she can’t get enough air. Aqua kneels next to her and pulls out a bag of supplies, getting right to work. 

You have to admit she has excellent bedside manner, as she pulls out each instrument she explains what it does and what it’s for as she uses it. You can tell it’s mostly for Roxas’ benefit, as she directs most of her comments to him, and for the most part it seems to work at calming him down. You have to admit it all flies over your head, and having the explanations are nice. She has an air of knowing exactly what she’s doing and why she’s doing it, and it’s comforting. 

She adjusts Xion until she’s lying on her back with arms raised and her breathing becomes a little easier. She does a handful of other small things and before long it’s almost as if she’s only asleep, rather than unconscious. 

“She’s a premie, isn’t she?” She asks quietly, once the kids have settled down some, resting a short distance away. Only you, Lea and Isa remain near. 

“... I cannot know for sure, but it’s likely.” Isa responds, just as quietly. Aqua nods. 

“I’ve seen this before. It’s common with twins who end up with different sets of the parents heritage. One needs more incubation time, but because they’re twins they come out simultaneously. How old is she?”

“Four, nearly five.” Lea answers. Aqua makes a considering noise. 

“If it makes you feel any better, most cases like this usually grow out of it by the time they hit five or six, so as long as you can get through the next year or two she’ll grow into a perfectly healthy individual.”

“Just gotta make it through all this first.” Lea says, stress lines creasing his brow. You lean against him, not knowing what to say, but attempting to comfort. 

“She’ll be okay, I think.” Aqua says at length. “She just needs lots of rest. Take her home and keep her in bed for at least the next week, and nothing strenuous for at least two more after that.”

She stands, brushing sand from white feathers. 

“Excuse me a moment, I need to give you some supplies but I wasn’t sure what I would need so I left them all in my vehicle.”

“You drove?” You can’t help but ask. Most vehicles weren’t exactly made for harpy proportions, and you can’t say you’d ever seen one driving when it could fly instead. 

“Wouldn’t it have been faster to fly?” Lea concurs. Aqua shakes her head.

“I keep a great deal of supplies on me for emergencies just like this one.” She shakes her head. “It would be impossible to carry them all. And I didn’t drive, my boyfriend did.”

She excuses herself, but returns quickly. 

“Here,” she hands a bag of what appear to be some kind of round jellies to Lea. “One of these every night, make sure she hasn’t eaten anything for at least an hour beforehand. If she’s asleep putting it in her cheek will work just as well.”

“It’s safe to move her?” Isa asks, and Aqua nods. 

“I believe she will be fine, though I would recommend sticking to temperate zones; if there are any exceptionally hot or cold areas on your route home I would recommend avoiding them.”

“Thank you.” Isa says sincerely, scooping up Xion in one hand. The kids seem to notice the wind down and gather around you. 

“Are you going now?” Riku asks, and Sora gives a mournful chirp. Lea nods, hefting a sleepy looking Roxas into his arms. 

“Yeah. We’re probably gonna be gone for a while, we gotta make sure Xion’s okay, but we’ll be back, promise.”

“Okay. Please tell her we hope she gets better soon.” Riku says earnestly, to which Sora nods quickly. 

“Will do, kid.” Lea answers, and then all four of them turn and disappear beneath the waves. 

Aqua gives you a cordial nod and turns to leave, but after a moments indecision you call her back.

“Could I treat you to dinner? If you’re not busy anyway. I wanted to thank you.” You ask in a rush. She blinks owlishly before smiling.

“Thank you, that sounds lovely. Do you mind if I bring my boyfriend and chick? They’ve been very patient out by the car, but I’d hate to trap them there longer than I have to.” She says with a laugh, and you can’t help a smile in return.

“Of course, we’d be happy to have all of you. It’s the least I can do after you came out to help Xion like that.”

“I’m only glad to help.” She demurrs. “Let me pack my things and then I’ll introduce you to my family.”

You nod your assent, and then head inside to start prepping dinner. You ask if Vanitas or Sora want to help, but Sora wants to stay and watch the ocean for a bit and of course Vanitas wants to keep watch.

Riku rubs his eyes tiredly, and decides it’s time to go home.

“I’ll come over tomorrow.” He says with finality. “To see if Xion’s okay.”

You tell him it will probably be too soon to know still, but he seems adamant, and you let him go with an indulgent smile.

You’ve just finished pulling out ingredients when Aqua knocks on your door and you gesture her in. She’s followed by a brown haired young man that would probably be considered a Brick Wall of muscle if he weren’t next to his massive swan girlfriend, and then by a teenaged harpy boy with golden brown feathers. He’s missing some feathers around his neck, scars showing thick and giving it a patchy appearance. 

“My boyfriend, Terra, and our chick Ventus.” She introduces both with a gesture. Terra nods with a smile, but Ventus pouts.

“I’m not a chick anymore Aqua!” He protests, and she merely ruffles his hair fondly.

“Nice to meet you,” You say, reaching out to take Terra’s hand. “I’m Comet, they/them.”

“A pleasure.”

“Where is your flock?” Aqua asks, and you gesture out back.

“Still on the beach. I think the whole thing scared the little guy a bit so he’s gonna be watching the waves for a while. They’ll be in once they smell food.”

You find they’re an easy group to talk to, chatting idly as you prepare dinner. Terra is gracious enough to help, and though you feel bad since you were the one to invite them for dinner, he profuses that he enjoys cooking and it would be more a favour to him than anything.

“You ever get tired of harpy food, or do you ever make things just for yourself?” He asks, and you shrug.

“I don’t think I’ve had time to get sick of it yet. I make food for a bunch of mer’s sometimes too, and I’ve only been taking care of the kids for a year or so at this point.”

“How did you come to be their guardian, if you don’t mind my asking.” Aqua pipes up.

“Yeah we get enough stares of our own for being a human and a harpy.” Terra adds. “You’ve got mer partners in that mix too, how’d that happen?”

“It’s a long story,” You laugh, “But I guess the short version is I ran across them a couple times suspecting they might have been abandoned, but I didn’t get the chance to take them in until Vanitas took sick and could take care of Sora on his own anymore.”

There’s a loud clatter as something pushes against the table, and you turn to meet Ventus’ wide eyed stare. 

“What-“ he croaks uncertainly, “did you say their names were?”

“Vanitas.” You say slowly, off balance at the strange reaction. “And Sora.”

“Ven-“ Aqua starts, but Ventus has already bolted for the door, feathers ruffled in agitation. He bursts through with a clatter, followed closely by you and his guardians. 

You see Vanitas and Sora turn at the noise, and Ventus nearly makes it within a few feet of them before Vanitas places himself solidly between him and Sora, screeching loudly in warning. 

Ventus stumbles back, hurt and confusion evident even at your distance, and all three of you pause tensely to see what would happen next. 

The two stand staring at each other for a long, painful few moments. Vanitas glares, teeth bared and hissing, while Ven doesn’t seem to know what to do. 

Sora peeks under Vanitas’ feathers hesitantly, uncertainty in his face. 

Ven’s stance loosens just slightly, and he crouches. 

“It’s me, Ven. Do you remember?”

“I  _ don’t care _ .” Vanitas snarls. “ _ You left!” _

Ven flinches, and Aqua speaks up then. 

“He’s been looking for you, for years. He was taken by poachers and ended up on our island hundreds of miles away. He had no idea where his home was, he was too young-“

“I  _ don’t! Care!” _ Vanitas shouts. You wonder if anyone else can see the hurt in his face. “ _ You left us alone!” _

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Ven says, voice cracking. “I tried to find you.”

Vanitas just snarls. Sora looks between the two older boys almost fearfully. Ven looks down at him and crouches in the sand. 

“You’ve gotten so big.” He smiles sadly. “Do you remember-?”

Sora hides further into Vanitas’ wing, and you can almost feel Ven’s heart break. 

Ven takes a deep, shaky breath, as if to try and steel himself. 

Then Ven starts to sing. 

It’s slow and mournful at first, but still familiar. You don’t realize why until you hear Sora instinctively start chirping back, filling in his own part of their family’s song. Ven smiles through tears as he hears the tentative joining, though it falls again at Vanitas’ continued silence. 

The notes fall away, and silence reigns on the darkening beach for a long moment. 

“....poachers?” Vanitas asks. Ven nods, raising a claw to show the missing feathers around his neck. 

“Yeah. They caught me while I was out hunting, and I couldn’t get free until Aqua and Terra rescued me.”

“We stumbled on them mostly by accident.” Terra admits. “But we knew we couldn’t leave him there.”

“None of them will ever bother anyone ever again.” Aqua says with a serious finality that stalls any further questions of what happened to the poachers. 

You decide you don’t want to know. 

“I don’t..” Vanitas droops. “I can’t go back. I like it here. I like Comet.” He glances at you, and your heart swells. Ven nods. 

“I get it. But maybe.. I could still be nearby? I don’t want to leave you behind again. Ever.” He says with sincerity. 

“I have been wanting to start a proper clinic, instead of constantly moving from place to place.” Aqua offers. Ven looks up with barely disguised hope. Terra nods. 

“I’m sure we can make something work.” He says. You can’t help a small laugh at the whole situation. 

“This has been the longest week and it’s only Tuesday.”

**Author's Note:**

> xion is fine, obviously
> 
> Thanks for sitting through this massive one shot bc omfg it for so much bigger than we ever intended


End file.
